NYC

December 30-January 3

I won a prize (we'll get there later) and Brian and I were flown out to Washington DC. We figured since we were already across the country, we might as well take a few days and see New York while we were at it. We headed out on the morning of December 30 and got to my brother's apartment on the upper east side of Manhattan around 3:00am on the 31st.

Besides the airline losing our bags, missing our connecting train, and adding another $200 of unnecessary expenses, it all went pretty smoothly.

My brother, Britton, was not home so we woke up and started the day on our own until he met up with us later that night. With a map in hand, we hopped on one of those blue tour buses and joined a bazillion other people camera-checking the entire city.

We got off the bus at Chinatown. The bus was closing early to prepare Times Square for the New Year's Eve festivities. We walked and walked and walked and walked. I don't remember the last time I walked that much - certainly nothing close these past seven months or so...

Brian had Chinese dumplings and I got to try Babycakes, a gluten-free bakery. Holy yum.
We walked down the the World Trade Center site and down to Battery Park. The statue of liberty was off in the distance - but at least I could see it with my very own eyes. Brian was thinking, "It's not that big..."
On the subway ride home, we jumped off at Times Square. It was 5 or so by this time - we wanted to see how New Year's Eve was coming. Britton told us not to go - I can see why. Barricades were going up, cops all over the streets, and people were EVERYWHERE. We walked a few blocks and tried to locate the ball. Five minutes was good for us. We were there. We went, we saw, we conquered, and we were happy.

We were back at Britton's by 6:00 and watched the ball drop from the comfort of his couch with an accompanying footrub from my honey. I could hear the people counting down from his kitchen window at midnight. It's hard not to hear 1,000,000 people. I can't say I'm sad we weren't standing next to them.
Britton got back that night and we woke up and got ready for another day of sight-seeing. My legs felt like they had been run over by a train - I wasn't totally sure I was up for it. But, as Brian reminded me, we would rest when we got back home.

Brit was the best tour guide. He knows everything - all the places to eat, the pictures to take, the history behind it all. One of my very favorite parts of our entire trip was the fact that we could hang out with him.

We saw:

Seinfeld's Restaurant
Flatiron Building
Empire State Building
Will Smith's house - I Am Legend
Ate NY pizza
Rockafeller Center
Ferry ride for an up close view of the Statue
Brooklyn (or is it the Manhattan?) Bridge
Times Square at night
You've Got Mail - Cafe Lalo
Brian hanging out with the Jimmy Hendrix look alike rocker dude in the subway
Eating a NY hotdog, also in You've Got Mail

We had such a great time. It was a packed four days, all of them without Brian's luggage. Don't think Delta and I aren't having words...

A few things I learned while in New York:

1. Utah is not the most diverse state in the Union

2. Subways are the best place to people watch

3. There really are rats in the subway. We saw one the first 2 seconds we were down there

4. I like living in a city that's not a CITY

5. January is NOT the best month to visit the east coast. But still totally fun to trek through the not-so-great weather to see things you've never seen before with people you like.

6. There are a lot of places in this country that deserve a visit from us. NYC is a totally fun place to be. Next time we go, we'll have to go in the spring or fall. Better weather and a trip to Central Park.

7. It really is as busy as people say it is. Don't get used to your personal space.

8. It really isn't as scary as people say it is. I rode the subway all by myself to meet Britton and Brian and felt totally safe.

I'll try to think of a 9, 10 just to round it out. But that's all I've got for now.

Christmas 09

It's been a great month. Gavin has loved looking at trees and lights and has learned all sorts of new words that go with December. He is now 18 months and SO MUCH FUN. (And a little sassy.)

This picture is just cute. Loves putting on dad's hats. And they fit.
Robinson Family Christmas Party. Gavin was a rebel when it came to singing - wouldn't sit still. But he's got an awesome belly.
Enter Santa.

His new found love...Elmo.
Robinson Family Christmas Eve. Gavin loves his cousins. He loves hugs. Put the two together and you've got a great combination
Cute picture taken before dinner and red jello ruined everything.

Gavin loved looking at everyone else's presents. He was wondering what was going on, but he started to figure it out. New stuff = fun.
Christmas Eve. This is the first year in my entire life that we've been alone with nothing to do (family parties) or anyone to be with. It was nice to have just the three of us do Christmas jammies and watch a movie. Simple and cozy. After Gavin went to bed, I challenged Brian to a game of Trivial Pursuit. Family version for ages 12 and up. Turns out we are not super smart. In an hour we got 3 chips TOTAL.

I just want to eat this kid.
He was bouncing off the walls. (Has been every night since.) He knew something good was coming...
Watching the Christmas classics. He's been begging for Santa and Rudolph all month. I put them away, happy to not see them again until next year.
Christmas morning. Gavin slept and slept. I was so excited for him to get up. Brian had the video camera out as he walked down the hallway. This 18-month-old boy slowly walked down the hall and said, "Wow."
He got a popper (my dad says I'll live to regret that decision), a train, a microphone, and a book. The bike is from G&G Robinson. We put it together and pretended that it was Santa. Cheating? Maybe. But he loved it.

Luggage from G&G Woolf.
My new scriptures. My first pair that says "Robinson" on them. I've been waiting awhile for these.
Brian's tickets to the Jazz/Laker game in February.
Gavin learned the word 'bow' and thought it was a hat. He wore this for at least an hour.
Playing a little Guitar Hero with dad.
A fun, fun Christmas. So glad to spend it together with our little family. It was fun to see how involved Gavin was this Christmas. He was so content all day. Can't wait to see his face next year.

Bedhead

You, too, can get this look if you take a bath late and go to bed with wet hair.

An Arizona Thanksgiving

We headed down on Sunday, stayed the night in St. George to break it up, and ended up in Mesa late Monday afternoon. The drive down left us a little frazzled. Gavin kicked up his feet and had some Doritos. That seemed to help - for a bit. Eighteen month olds are not meant to be strapped in a car for 11 hours.

My grandpa's funeral on Tuesday was probably one of the best services I've been too. I'm glad we could be there for that.

We stayed at Lynsey and Matt's and the boys played and played.





Wednesday night before Thanksgiving we headed up to the desert to have dinner, roast marshmallows, and have a story from Grandma. Gavin was content on Brian's shoulders for most of the time. He was interested in the fire and in all of the cousins. I haven't ever done that with my family - it really was fun.
Noah, Cade, Ben, and Ashley.


Rachelle - the 7 1/2 month broken foot woman. She's still smiling!


Gavin was mesmerized by Elmo. I've already found him a little Elmo doll for Christmas.
The weather was delightful. 75-80 degrees! We headed to the park more than once and as always, Gavin loved that too.
Thanksgiving was at my aunt Trudy's house. Brian is still getting used to eating Thanksgiving outside. I guess I've never thought about it.

Gavin LOVED Thanksgiving. He was so quiet and just ate and ate - everything but the turkey he put over there on the side of the table.

My parents, uncle, sis-in-law and some nieces and nephews.

Gavin played at the park next door and wanted to be around the big kids. He didn't know what to do with them, so mostly he ran around - just happy to be free.
The last day we were there five of the girls, my mom, and the coordinating children went to Freestone park. We rode the train and played on the horses and then headed to the park again. It was fun to be with my sisters. We caused a little bit of a commotion with that many kids, but that's just normal for us, I guess.


We're glad that we were able to go down to see my family. It's a long drive, but always worth it. It's important to me that Gavin is not a stranger to his Arizona cousins. We'll probably head down again with the new baby this summer.